School board still hopes for dialogue

The Gloucester County School Board will again ask the board of supervisors for an opportunity for the two boards to sit down to discuss the issue of changing the schools’ funding method before any action is taken on the matter.

School board members held a work session last Thursday night in the school board conference room, with the four members present saying they still hope this conversation between the boards would take place at a joint meeting already scheduled for Sept. 21.

On Aug. 3, supervisors voted by a 4-3 margin not to entertain a written request from school board chairman Ann Burruss to delay any decision on the move from lump sum to categorical funding until after the Sept. 21 meeting. Instead, supervisors invited school board members to deliver a presentation on Sept. 7, stating their case why the lump sum funding method should be retained.

"We would still like to discuss this," Burruss said. "I’m not sure what they expect from a presentation … but I feel this is a reasonable approach."